- Verizon is taking its role as a company that connects people to each other with its latest promotion, touting the brand’s status as the “Official Telecommunications Sponsor” or the World Cup.
- For the promo, soccer legends Tim Howard, Chucky Lozano, Alyssa Thompson and Giselle Thompson made one-on-one video calls to 20 Verizon customers (who are also soccer fans) to reward them with a “Golden Ticket” to the tournament, which includes pitchside access.
- Verizon used these calls to create a social media video, showing the fans first getting the surprise call and then their overwhelming glee upon receiving the experience package, as part of Verizon’s overall campaign theme of “No One Gets You Closer.”
“We’re the Official Telecommunications Sponsor, which means we’re doing the heavy lifting of powering the stadiums and the operations, but we didn’t want to just be another logo on an LED board,” said Ricardo Aspiazu, senior vice president, creative & brand design at Verizon. “We decided to skip the traditional ‘win a prize’ flow and focused on creating a core memory.”
Aspiazu called the overlap between Verizon’s customers and World Cup fans “a perfect mirror,” as both brands appeal to “diverse and dynamic” audiences. “Soccer isn’t just one thing; it’s a passion that spans generations and borders,” he said. “ By bringing in a mix of U.S. icons and international stars, we’re talking to everyone – from the die-hard who’s been following these legends for decades to the casual fan just getting swept up in the moment.”
The 20 lucky fans were selected through Verizon’s Access loyalty program, offering one-on-one calls with the soccer legends. The addition of the ‘Golden Ticket’ was a surprise for the fans, who had no idea it was coming, Aspiazu said.
With its direct calls between fans and players and the surprise of a ticket to the games and pitchside access, the promo is meant to reflect Verizon’s overall brand promise of “No one gets you closer.”
“We talk a lot about being a connector, but this activation actually proved it,” Aspiazu said. “It puts the customer at the center of the story. It signals to our community that if you want to be at the heart of the action, you need to be with Verizon.”
He added that the Golden Ticket promo was “just the beginning” of the company’s activations around the tournament.
“It was our way of introducing our talent roster and showing our customers that pitch-side access is no longer just a dream,” Aspiazu said. “As we get closer to the tournament, we’re going to be dropping more tickets and finding new ways to surprise and delight our customers. We have some pretty great things in the works – stay tuned.”
